UK Visas and British Citizenship

Get a faster decision on your UK visa or settlement application. Can be as fast as in 5 working days or even 24 hours, for an additional Government fee. We at 1st 4Immigration don't charge extra fees for this because the documents and the visa rules remain the same - and we always work as fast as possible! The difference is the processing time by the UK authorities. Eligible in-UK visa categories: Spouse, Partner or a Parent of a UK citizen: switching from another visa (such as Student or Youth Mobility Scheme), extension, settlement Indefinite Leave to Remain. Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker and most other work visas: switching from another visa, extension, settlement. Student visa. Start-up, Innovator, Global Talent, Tier 1 Investor. Ancestral visa. Indefinite Leave on the basis of 10 years. Categories only available on the Standard (slow) service: British Citizenship Hong Kong BNO visa Complex cases How does it work? Decision in 24 hours. We advise on the visa requirement...

Here we have rounded up the updated information on the most commonly asked questions about UK visas that are related to Covid disruption, which can also be found here . #1 I had to stay outside the UK during the pandemic, will my (longer than planned) absences affect my next application?  If you left and returned on the same visa, and had to stay abroad because of Covid, your absences wouldn't normally affect your next application. If your visa expired while you were abroad, and you are wondering whether a break between visas will affect your 'continuous residence’. Such as when counting ‘your’ 5 years for Settlement (Indefinite Leave). The answer is: if your visa expired between 1 March 2020 and 19 July 2021, a break of up to 6 months will be accepted.  #2 My income was reduced and/or I was on furlough, how can I meet the Financial Requirement for a Spouse/Partner or family visa in my next application? If your salary has reduced because you were furloughed, you can use income...

  #1 What’s going on in the lockdown? #2 My visa expires soon but I need to do an English or Life in the UK test, is anything open?  #3 My visa expires soon but I haven’t met the income requirement or was on furlough.  #4 I had to stay abroad longer than planned, will this affect my next application or settlement? What if my visa expired while abroad? #5 Is the new ‘Brexit’ Points Based System operating?  The answers:  #1 What’s going on in the lockdown? The immigration work continues, the UK authorities consider applications and issue visas. This work is done remotely, without facing a Government official, although this has been the case for over 2 years now. What did change due to Covid were the processing times: many applications take longer (but not all, we had some cases approved within days), plus there is no Priority services. Visa application centres in the UK are classed as essential services and remain open in the lockdown. Visa centres outside the UK ...

UK immigration authorities continue to process visa applications, albeit still at a slower pace and without Priority services. However, the visa centres are beginning to reopen in the UK and abroad from 1 June 2020 for submission of biometrics (fingerprints). To start with, they are re-booking appointments for the applicants who had booked a slot prior to the lockdown and had them cancelled. Regardless of that, it is still possible to submit your application online. If your visa expires soon, you can apply for your next visa online and "on-time", i.e. before your current visa expires, and then waiting for further steps. This keeps you within the Rules and does not make you an overstayer.  Even better, the actual documents (supporting evidence) can be submitted later, thus giving you even more time to prepare them. Usually, within 45 days after the online "submission". It may be extended due to the Covid situation (but no dates confir...

UK immigration authorities continue to process visa applications, albeit not as fast as they normally would. The visa centres are beginning to gradually re-opening from 1 June 2020 in the UK and abroad. Regardless of when your particular centre re-opens, it is still possible to submit your application online. If your visa expires soon, you can apply for your next visa "on-time", i.e. before your current visa expires, by making such an application online and then waiting for the further steps. This keeps you within the Rules and does not make you an overstayer.  Even better, the actual documents (supporting evidence) can be submitted later, thus giving you even more time to prepare while remaining within the Rule on visa expiry dates. We usually have 45 days to provide the documents (ie upload them online to the Government portal) after the online "submission" mentioned above. This is extended for as long as it will take to clear up the backlog.  If you...

This scheme is up and running now, you can start here:  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-self-employment-income-support-scheme  Self-employed means a sole trader, ie someone who has a business and working for themselves- without forming a company. If you have a limited company, you won't be classed as self-employed for HMRC and this purpose. You will, however, be classed as self-employed if you are in a Partnership.  Under the scheme, the self-employed will be paid 80% of their income, up to £2,500 per month, initially a lump sum for 3 months. The actual amount will be calculated as average of your income during the last 3 tax years (last tax year being 2018-19). If you were self-employed for less than those 3 tax years, it will be average of the available tax years. If you only started self-employment during 2019-20 tax year, you won't qualify. Also, only those with income of £50,000 from self-employment will qualify and only if self-employme...

UK visas and your immigration status:  If your current visa expires before 31 July 2020 , and you are not planning to remain in the UK, you can request the above extension until 31 July 2020 (but you have to ask for it, ie it's not automatic).  If your current visa expires before 31 July 2020 , and you are planning to stay in the UK long-term , you can make an online application for that - by 31 July 2020. Even if you couldn't switch under the normal circumstances, you will be able to do so now. Examples: from a visitor status to a Spouse visa; from a visitor status to a Tier 4 student or Tier 2 work visa.  The latest extension, up to 31 July 2020, will be applied automatically to those who had already extended their stay until 31 May 2020 under the previous provision (in which case you don't have to ask for it, it will be done automatically).   Tier 2 migrants working for the NHS as a doctor, nurse and other eligible occupations:   if yo...

This post is referring to the UK Government's announcement here:  https://www.dailymail. co.uk/news/article-8122789/ Coronavirus-Rishi-Sunak- announces-three-month- mortgage-payment-holiday.html We are not mortgage advisers and this is not a financial or legal advice. This is a post from me, Natalia Andrews, a property investor as well as an immigration lawyer, and I am doing this in response to our immigration clients, asking for some advice during the uncertain times of COVID-19. For details, or if you are in financial difficulty, you need to seek a professional financial advice.  Mortgage Holiday - you will still owe this money!  My bank, Halifax, confirmed that they were offering a mortgage holiday for 3 months, same as other banks did. They warned, however, that you would still owe this money. They aren't cancelling these payments but adding them to the loan, so you will be paying it later. Most likely, in small instalments, so you probab...

We are asked what the UK Government is doing to help small businesses and workers. As many of our customers are business owners or employed by such, here is a summary as it stands at the moment. Please remember it can change at anytime.  The main point is that the Government is taking measures, and we believe there is no need to worry whether the current extraordinary situation will affect your immigration status in terms of meeting the visa rules. These circumstances will be taken into account when your visa application is considered in the future.  If you run your own business:    A migrant-run business will be eligible for support. This is not ‘public funds' and won’t breach an endorsement on your visa (if applicable to your situation).  There will be exemption from business rates for 12 months and grants for those who don’t pay business rates. Broadly, it will be applicable to businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure. You...

We would like to reassure you that all our immigration work continues as normal. UK visa and Citizenship applications are prepared and processed electronically. Whether you are applying for a UK entry visa to come here, or applying inside the UK to remain or settle. All cases are now considered by the UK authorities “behind the close doors”, meaning the visa officers are not seen face-to-face. When decision has been made, we will be notified by email. When working with us at 1st 4Immigration, you can submit the documents to us online without leaving your home. This is already a standard practice for our customers residing outside the UK and increasingly common for those applying inside the UK. We use Dropbox, email and similar providers. If you prefer, you can of course post us paper documents and we will scan them. For a consultation appointment, we work via What’s App, Skype, email, phone. Our face-to-face appointments are also currently running as normal but we can change yours t...